STB asked to deny CPKC request to shield certain info from public view
BNSF Railway Co., the Coalition to Stop CPKC and the American Chemistry Council are expressing opposition to Canadian Pacific Kansas City‘s request that the Surface Transportation Board keep confidential certain information as part of its oversight of the recently merged Class I.
In filings made with the STB last week, the three organizations said they’re opposed to CPKC’s latest request, submitted in a May 24 letter, to adopt a protective order for oversight proceedings and set up another category of confidentiality that would not allow other parties to view certain confidential information.
In their filings, the parties said they oppose CPKC’s request because the board’s oversight of CPKC should be transparent. Their opposition is the latest in a series of back-and-forth filings with the STB over how it will monitor CPKC.
When it approved the merger in March, the board established several conditions, including that it would monitor the railroad for seven years to ensure CPKC is preserving competition for shippers.
CPKC’s “request is inconsistent with the board’s approach to other merger oversight proceedings and would limit public participation in the oversight process,” a law firm representing BNSF wrote in a June 13 filing. “The current protective order already covers the types of information CPKC seeks to protect, ensures that this information is not viewed by employees of CPKC’s competitors and limits this information to be viewed only by outside counsel and consultants who have signed a ‘highly confidential’ undertaking.”